Shelves and other furniture items are often used in flexible spaces, such as in commercial and institutional settings in order to utilize wall space for displaying or storing items. Shelving systems use a variety of techniques for supporting and maintaining a generally horizontal orientation. Some prior shelf designs utilize generally vertical supports upon which the horizontal portion of the shelf is supported, or from which the horizontal portion is suspended. Such supports are highly visible. Some prior shelf designs are so-called “floating” shelf designs, in which the horizontal portion is supported by supports hidden within the thickness of the portion, thereby requiring the shelf to have a substantial thickness in order to conceal the supports.
Panels made of wood or having the appearance of wood are widely used in the construction of furniture and home décor objects. Material innovation has provided objects that have become lighter in scale (e.g., thinner) while often satisfying the same function as their older and/or heavier appearing counterpart. However, the creation of similarly thin object with the appearance of wood has most commonly been prohibited by excessive costs of manufacturing and/or the poor appearance of wood film printed over alterative substrates.